Taniel (The Taverner's Daughter I)

20: Jarryd - Homeward Bound

Next morning, astride his green dragon and homeward bound, Jarryd could not stop thinking of Taniel and his time with her. After the first kisses, he had lost all sense of reality. Somehow, he believed he could outsmart the Eighalh wizards long enough to get his magic restored.

He had readily exchanged vows to make her his wife.

As the first morning light had crept into the cave, he had disentangled himself from his betrothed. While pulling on his boots and jacket, he watched her snuggle into the bedroll. He had left her with a chaste kiss on the cheek and his promise to return. She murmured something unintelligible but her smile said all he needed to know. He did not need more words.

All the necessary ones had been said.

She was his.

Now, some hours later, the grin slipped from his face. When he had vowed to keep Taniel safe, he had meant it, but he was not sure it was possible.

I'm getting my magic back. The mantra popped back into his head, and continued playing as it had since dawn.

Jarryd, if you do not stop doing that, I will close the mindpath.

Sorry, didn't realise it was open but isn't it wonderful. I'm getting my magic back.

Do not you humans have a saying about putting the cart before the horse?

I'm not fully human, so perhaps it doesn't apply. Anyway, the girl is keen as a hunting knife.

Rufus snorted. You have thought girls keen before, have you not? Amusement drifted along the mindpath, and the dragon's rumbling laugh vibrated underneath him.

Those girls were not like this one. Jarryd patted the green scales, grinning. It would take more than his dragon laughing at him to stop him thinking of the girl he had left in Skerby.

After awhile, Jarryd let his thoughts roam where they would, unwilling to think of his destination. They would arrive at the castle soon enough.

Wizard Ritter would be waiting, as would Mother and Dax.

Jarryd's story was ready. They would not break him, not this time. He was older, wiser, and had self-preservation in mind.

Trying to distract himself, Jarryd studied his surroundings, imagining what Taniel would think when he brought her home with him.

With the sun at his back, the merged shadow of man and dragon raced out front, rippling and leaping on the waters of the bay far below them. On his left, the wilds thinned, clearing to the narrow swathes of lush grassland marking the Edge. He would not see the rearing bluffs until it was time to veer over the bay to Castle Stakkr.

The sheer cliffs swept along the Edge, skirting the forests of Eastland, until merging with the Morrdake Mountains in the north. Countless rings of rocky reefs and shattered rocks added another level of security against invasion from that side.

There was little need for watchwards along the Edge and Wizard Ritter took care of the southern approach to Corrangorach.

The deep blue depth of the sea-lanes erratic course through the bay was easily seen from the back of a dragon. Fishing boats relied on anchored seamarks as they neared Stakkr and only a few of the larger vessels ventured beyond the watchful eyes of Stakkr.

On the horizon, Jarryd could see the castle set on the rocky island between the heads. Water swirled endlessly around the foundations of the stone fortress, leaving long lashings of foam dripping from the lower walls. Only the foolhardy attempted landing so much as a rowboat on the island.

When he had heard rumour that several of the large sailing vessels favoured by the pirates had managed passage, in days gone by, Jarryd had scoffed. He believed it talk designed to encourage watchward vigilance. The fighting ships had not left the Dakeshott docks for centuries. There was nowhere for them to go since the barrier had been magicked.

No, if they decided they wanted Corrangorach back, they would have to come from over the lower Morrdakes.

Jarryd wondered if the west would be a good place to take Taniel. She certainly was not safe in Skerby. Any wizard learning of Taniel would rush to woo her with bribes and riches. The less magic they had, the more she was worth to them — with or without the paternity spell any children would bring.

He would not be able to compete with that. Could he trust her to stay true to him while he was gone? From what she had told him, she had already broken one unconsummated betrothal. He regretted not pressing consummation for this one. He relaxed a little. After all, he had promised her a dragon of her own.

Few could match his offer.

***

9 March 2017 - replaced with revised scene

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